


Don't-you-ever-say-that-again

by Matilda_Am



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Battle, Elves, Gen, Pre-War, Protective Parents, Thranduil Not Being An Asshole, War, Young Thranduil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:48:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27029878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matilda_Am/pseuds/Matilda_Am
Summary: One day before a battle Oropher said something to his wayward son. And Thranduil didn't like it very, very much.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	Don't-you-ever-say-that-again

"Don't you ever say that again," Thranduil growled low. With an angry, sharp movement, the young Prince quickly wiped the tears from his cheeks, then his eyes turned back to his father, and Oropher started. It was not often that he heard his own tone from his son.

After recovering from his astonishment, however, he immediately became enraged at this impudent boy. Only Thranduil could speak to him that... Disrespectfully. That rude, that free. And Oropher was not used to insubordination.

"Ion nin," he said, not even pretending to control his temper. "Listen to me attentively..."

"No, you listen to me!" Thranduil almost shouted, his eyes filling with new tears. All of his composure was gone. "You have no right to send me away when our people - my people - are expecting a hard battle, a very hard one. I am one of the captains of this army! Absolutely the same as the others. I will never, never, never leave them."

He was obviously trying to be reasonable, but his anger and resentment at his father prevented him from speaking clearly and calmly. Well, in this he was always very similar to Oropher.

But Oropher was much older, and sometimes - very rarely, but especially when it came to his son - he could control his foul mood.

"I do not send you away," he said, closing his eyes irritably. "I charge you to lead your people to safety...

"Because you think my head will be blown off in battle!" Thranduil exploded. His boundless energy, on the contrary, did not run out. "Are you really so unsure of me? Do you really think I'm such a weak warrior? Do you..."

"Ion nin!" Oropher frowned, unable to bear this hysteria any longer. He took a quick step toward his son, suddenly standing almost a head taller than young Thranduil, and before his stubborn boy could escape, he put his hands on his shoulders. Thranduil tried to pull away, of course, but without success. Annoyance showed on his pale face. "Do you really think I would ever say such things about my only son?"

"Of course you would not, because you would send me out of the city with women and children in silence," the young Prince snapped weakly.

For the first time in many years, Oropher begged the Valar, and only one thing - to grant him a little patience.

"Thranduil, I never doubted you. How can I doubt if you used to spend seven hours on the training field, and now you rush to the most difficult tasks with such passion? I just want you to be safe. You are the most important thing that I and our people have..."

"Oh, Ada!" the young man exclaimed, rolling his eyes. But something in his voice changed slightly, giving Oropher a vague hope. "I'm not a child anymore."

He really thought so?...

"I never said you were a child. But you are a Prince. If I die in this battle, you will have to take..."

Thranduil had never looked more dazed, pale, and terrified than after these words.

"Stop!" he interrupted his father.

"You will have to take my place," Oropher finished patiently.

"No, no, no, forget it! Forget it and never say such things to me again, Adar!

The eldest elf let go of his son's shoulders, suddenly feeling a terrible chill from Thranduil's fea.

"What on earth are you so scared of just now?" he asked softly. "Ion nin, you are fully prepared for this. If I..."

"What?! Do you think... Oh, Eru. You won't die," Thranduil said flatly, As if his words would change anything. "I'm going to take care of it. I will stay here, I will fight with the others. With you. You know that I will disobey your orders if necessary. You won't die!"

"I am not going to, yet."

"You do not lie to me, do you?"

"Of course."

Thranduil was silent for several very long seconds.

"Come here," he said quickly then, using his commanding tone on his father for some reason. He went out of his room to the balcony, jumped lightly up, and sat on the railing, looking at the moon that had just appeared from behind a cloud. Oropher stood next to his son.

It was a quiet night. Crickets chirped faintly, and the trees whispered vaguely, confused by what was to come. A sharp gust of wind made Oropher shiver.

This brief peace was only the calm before the storm.

"I don't want to leave my home," Thranduil sobbed softly. If his father had turned to him, the stubborn youth would certainly have pretended that his tears were caused by this cold wind.

"I know. But you must. I don't wanna talk about it anymore."

"But Ada... You say that will be too dangerous. And do you think that I won't be safe when you are around?"

"You are a fine flatterer, Thranduil,"  
Oropher said, his eyes narrowing mockingly. His son could only blush in response.

"Good, great!" he said. "I promise I'll get into the most dangerous situation while you're not around."

He tried to speak calmly again, even with humor. There was too much despair and pain in his voice for Oropher to believe this absurd joke. And then the cold heart of the father thawed completely. Oropher reached out, but this time to put a gentle arm around the stubborn young Prince's shoulders. His chin rested on the top of Thranduil's blond head, and to his surprise, his son didn't even think to resist.

"I will be around. Okay. Ion nin, I will always be around. Come, my child, we must say a few words to our warriors."

The startled gaze of the emerald eyes flew to his face:

"Really? And no Halls tomorrow?..."

Oropher wanted to smile.

"No Halls tomorrow, I promise."

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my sweet reader! Please, leave me a comment!🌚💕💕


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